What is the Status of Pakistan's F-16s During Operation Sindoor?

New Delhi, Aug 13 (NationPress) The US government has reportedly refrained from offering detailed information regarding the status of the F-16 fighter jets operated by the Pakistan Air Force during ‘Operation Sindoor’.

The US State Department indicated, “We refer you to the Government of Pakistan to discuss its F-16s,” as reported by NDTV.

The U.S. reportedly exercises continuous oversight of Pakistan’s F-16 fleet via US contractors known as Technical Support Teams (TSTs). These teams are stationed in Pakistan round-the-clock to ensure the use of US-built F-16s aligns with the detailed end-use agreements established between Islamabad and Washington, according to the NDTV report.

These agreements delineate the circumstances under which Pakistan can deploy the jets in combat and serve as the basis for ongoing US support in maintaining the fleet.

As a result, these Technical Support Teams are contractually required to remain fully informed about the status of all F-16s operated by Pakistan.

The current response from the US State Department stands in stark contrast to the information provided by US government sources to Foreign Policy Magazine in 2019, following India’s airstrikes on the Balakot terror camp, as noted by NDTV.

At that time, two senior US defense officials reportedly informed Foreign Policy that US personnel had recently accounted for all of Islamabad’s F-16s and confirmed none were missing - a statement made after India asserted it had downed at least one Pakistan Air Force F-16.

India now believes that Pakistan lost several F-16 jets during Operation Sindoor, either due to strikes from the Indian Air Force (IAF) or in aerial combat. Three months after the conflict concluded, IAF Chief Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria stated, “Shahbaz Jacobabad airfield (was) one of the major airfields that was attacked. Here, there's an F-16 hangar.”

He elaborated, “One half of the hangar is gone. And I’m sure there were some aircraft inside which have sustained damage.”

Detailing the IAF's ground operations, the Air Chief remarked, “Three hangars that we attacked: Sukkur - UAV [Unmanned Aerial Vehicle] hangar, the Bholari hangar of the AEW&C [Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft] and Jacobabad - the F-16 hangar. We have indications of at least one AEW&C in that AEW&C hangar and several F-16s, which were undergoing maintenance.” The IAF also claims to have downed six Pakistani aircraft during the operation.

Pakistan, which has made its own assertions regarding Indian jets being shot down during Operation Sindoor, has dismissed the statements made by the IAF Chief.